Natsukanto Citrus Jelly - Served

Oimatsu is a famous shinise confectionary in the Kamishichiken geisha quarter (hanamachi) near Kitano Tenmagu Shrine in the Nishijin area of Kyoto and their natsumikan jelly is perhaps the most famous of all in Kyoto. I like the Kamishichiken neighborhood very much, it is more friendly and humane than the Gion area hanamachi. I like several of Oimatsu’s other famous confections, so I decided to give their jelly a try and I enjoyed it very much!

Oimatsu’s Natsukanto 老松 夏柑糖
Oimatsu, the shop name means ‘old 老 pine 松’.

The product is called natsukanto; natsu 夏 means summer, kan 柑 means citrus and to 糖 literally means sugar. Natsukanto had a surprising amount of sweetness to it, it was very well balanced between bitter and sweet. I had expected more bitter than sweet, but this is Kyoto, something unexpected is expected!

Natsukanto Citrus Jelly - Package

The package consists of a simple paper bag and inside that is the jelly enclosed in this plastic bag.

Natsukanto Citrus Jelly - Unwrapped

The natsumikan always seems like a fruit that time forget. It is not a very handsome citrus, it is deformed and uneven in shape, the peel is pockmarked and discolored and the peel seems needlessly thick. This seems like citrus must have been like in centuries past, before modern agriculture. The rustic quality of the fruit comes through in the honest and straightforward presentation of the jelly.

Natsukanto Citrus Jelly - Opened

Natsukanto Citrus Jelly - Served

Natsukanto Citrus Jelly - Served detail

How Did Natsukanto Taste? Refreshing!
In addition to taste, in Kyoto the look and feel, the full sensory aspect of a dish must be considered. The point of this jelly confection is respite from the sultry summer heat. Japanese love kanten jelly in summer as its translucence makes one think of ice.

I put the natsukanto in the freezer for about an hour until it was as close to frozen as it could be with out being frozen. More than this, I put the serving plates in the freezer for about 3 hours. Ideally the plate would be like one of those frosty beer mugs, I thought. I like the idea that the plate is intensely cold to the touch. Kaiseki restaurants in Kyoto would serve this dessert on a bed of crushed or shaved ice.

Also on the visual, the natsukanto comes with a fresh, deep green natsumikan leaf. This also plays on the idea of freshness and to Japanese refreshes the heart.

Ingredients for natsukanto are just three: natsumikan juice, sugar and kanten (agar).

There is no pulp in the juice used to make the jelly so it is translucent and though yellow, not cloudy.

The taste is pleasantly bitter yet is balanced and filled out with a good dose of sugar. Being in the peel, with the pith, adds a great deal of zing to the flavor and fragrance. The citrus bitterness is the perfect antidote to the hot, muggy Kyoto summer and this confection really does refresh body and soul!

My only complaint is that the opening on the top is quite roughly cut and lacks the kind of finish and attention to detail that is expected to be authentically ‘Kyoto’. I would think that this could be improved quite easily.

Availability and Price
Natsukanto is available from April until mid to late August. Availability depends on the season. This is handmade and not made with just any old natsumikan. The price is 1,250 yen which is not too expensive for this ‘in the peel’ jelly.

Natsukanto Citrus Jelly - Cross Section

Oimatsu Storefront
Oimatsu has two locations in Kyoto, Arashiyama and Kitano (Kamichiken). There are also small stores in two Kyoto department store food courts: Daimaru and Isetan.

Oimatsu Storefront in Kamishichiken

Oimatsu Interior - Kamishichiken Maiko Fans

In each of the hanamachi geisha quarters of Kyoto, the maiko (training geisha) give fans with their hanamachi name and the maiko’s name on it to restaurants that they like and frequent. The maiko fans are a source of pride and displayed prominently, usually in the entry area. From the number of fans, it looks like Oimatsu did a  (These fans are usually, but not always, an indication that the place is good.)

Oimatsu Interior

Oimatsu Interior - Wagashi Forms and Molds

These are the wooden forms and molds used to make some varieties of wagashi.

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English
English menu/signage: none

English website: none

Service/Staff: so-so

Price: 800 – 2,000 yen
Location and Access: Oimatsu is located just east of the gate on the east side of Kitano Tenmagu Shrine. The nearest municipal bus stops are Kitano Tenmagu-mae and Kamishichiken.

Address: Kyoto-shi Kamigyo-ku, Kitano, Kamishichiken 
(京都市上京区北野上七軒)

tel: 075-463-3050

Near Sightseeing Spot: Kitano Tenmagu Shrine

Map

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Soba Boro Package

I didn’t realize but I buy soba boro (蕎麦ぼうろ) fairly often. I like them. My dog likes them. I think that they have a distinctly Japanese taste yet are not challenging to the non-Japanese palate like tea ceremony namagashi might be. I reviewed Kyoto handmade soba boro ice cream here on KyotoFoodie and that is some wonderful stuff!

While soba boro is not a distinctly Kyoto confection, there are a number of shinise shop in Kyoto that are famous for them. One of my favorites is located near the Kyoto Gosho Imperial Palace and is called Kawaramachiya (丸太町かわらまち屋). In addition to soba boro, Kawaramachiya also is famous for their soba manju confections.

Kawaramachiya Soba Boro

How does Soba Boro Taste?
Soba boro has a very pleasant taste and texture and is not high in calories, for a sweet. It is hard and crispy but far less dense than traditional biscotti. Though it is very crunchy, it melts upon meeting the mouth very quickly. The soba and sugar creates a slightly earthy and caramely taste.

ingredient list:
wheat flour, sugar, egg, soba buckwheat flour

Kawaramachiya 'Honten' Store

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English:
English menu/signage: none
English website: none
Service/Staff: so-so
Price: 300 – 1,500 yen.
Location and Access: Kawaramachiya is located on Marutamachi Street between Teramachi and Kawaramachi Streets, on the south side of Marutamachi. The closest station is Jingu Marutamachi Station on the Keihan Railway, just across the Kamo River. The Marutamachi subway station on the Karasuma Line is about a 10 minute walk to the west. Many bus lines pass through this neighborhood too.
Address: Kyoto-shi Kamigyo-ku, Marutamachi-dori Kawaramachi Nishi-iru, Shintomi-cho 331
(京都市上京区丸太町通河原町西入信富町331番地)
Telephone: 075-231-2146
Near Sightseeing Spot: The Imperial Palace (5 min. walk to the north-west) and Shimogoryo Jinja Shrine and Teramachi Street

Map:

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Japan’s Answer to ‘Cookies and Cream’ Ice Cream: Soba boro is a crunchy cookie made of soba flour, sugar and egg, a little bit like a Japanese version of biscotti. Chibeta makes a delicious ice cream flavored with soba boro.

In Japan, soba boro is something like a graham cracker or sugar cookie in Western culture, one of the slightly prosaic, common, cheap sweets that taste pretty good.

Soba boro is made with the same buckwheat flour used for soba noodles, you might not think of it as an ideal flavoring for ice cream, but the soba boro is a nice flavoring for ice cream. This flavoring is pretty clever (though not unheard of) and originally might have been a riff on cookies and cream, which is a very popular Häagen-Dazs flavor in Japan.

Soba Boro Ice Cream

Notice the bits of broken soba boro in the ice cream, those darker bits.

Trypical Soba Boro Package

Soba Boro ‘Cookies’

Soba Boro – detail

Chibeta Soba Boro Ice Cream Package

Soba Boro Ice Cream Served

Kyoto Handmade Ice Cream Shop Chibeta
Chibeta is located on in the Nishijin district of Kyoto on Senbon-dori, just south of Imadegawa-dori. From the intersection of Senbon and Imadegawa Streets, you just go three (short) blocks to the south and Chibeta is located on the east corner of Senbon and Sasayacho Streets intersection.

Chibeta Storefront

Chibeta Interior

Sobo Boro Ice Cream and ‘Cookies’

The presentation in the ice cream case at Chibeta is great, they have whole soba boro cookies on top of the ice cream.

Map

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A bowl of udon with only two noodles? Is it a rip-off or a find? Though Tawaraya’s famous udon dish is a bit gimmicky, it does have that special and refined ‘shinise’ taste. This is a dish that has been enjoyed, across the street from an ancient shrine, by several generations of locals and pilgrims.

Today I visited another Nishijin restaurant that I had only heard about but had never been to: Tawaraya.

Tawaraya ‘Two Noodle’ Udon

Tawaraya is located just down the street from the main gate of Kitano Tenmagu Shrine in a very old and beautiful Nishijin Machiya. Tarawaya’s famous ‘meibutsu’ dish is called Nihon Udon, literally two noodles udon. You only get two noodles, so you know that they have to be substaintial. Tawaraya’s udon isn’t just thick, or even really thick, it is unbelievably, ginormously thick!

In Japan, you normally slurp noodles, but not there. Of course you still eat them with chopsticks but instead of slurping up a mouthful at a time, you bite off a mouthful at a time, from a single noodle!

Nihon udon is served with a very rich and rather salty dashi broth and shredded ginger, which you add yourself. I only used about half of mine.

The noodles of course taste like udon, but the feeling is more like eating mochi, very interesting.

Numerous other noodle dishes are available, but I didn’t try them. It looked like the other udon dishes are not served with the super thick udon, but ‘standard’ thickness udon.

Tawaraya Storefront

The machiya is especially beautiful, inside and out. The thick wooden columns and lintels are painted blackish brown. In the genkan entry there is a huge well with a bamboo cover. The floor is made of huge stone slabs, generously sprinkled with water. (Japanese love sprinkling water on pavement, stones and so on.)

While the price of 700 yen is reasonable for a tasty, shinise lunch in Kyoto, if you are a famished traveler the nihon udon probably would not be a substantial enough meal for you. The meal is classic Nishijin style, not a large serving but it is just enough to keeo you going for . If you want to try something novel and a Kyoto meibutsu that many Kyotoites haven’t sampled and you are visiting Nishijin or Kitano Tenmagu Shrine, this is a great place to lunch.

Lunch is quick here and it is not the kind of machiya dining experience in which you can really take your time and enjoy the atmosphere and the food.

Tawaraya Noren Curtain

Tawara means ‘straw bail of rice’, depicted in brush and ink on natural Japanese linen here on the Tawaraya noren curtain. ‘Ya’ means store, or shop.

Tawaraya Storefront ‘Menu’

This shows the other dishes available, having them all pinned to the traditional woodwork is rather unfortunate, not very ‘Nishijin’, too in your face.

Tawaraya ‘Two Noodle’ Udon – Served

The small plate on the lower right is grated ginger. You add as much as you like. For me, half was enough. I drank all my dashi, which you really aren’t supposed to do because of all the salt content. But, it was excellent!

Tawaraya ‘Two Noodle’ Udon

Tawaraya ‘Two Noodle’ Udon

Tawaraya Machiya Interior

This little room, off of the genkan entryway is for show and dipicts what a traditional Nishijin machiya room looks like.

Tawaraya Machiya Interior

Sorry, I didn’t have my usual camera today and was unable to get good photos of the interior.

Tawaraya Machiya Storefront

On the right side of Tawaraya is a small shrine where pregnant women come to pray for a safe delivery. If you are traveling in Japan, and pregenant, you can do lunch at Tawaraya and pray for a safe delivery! What a deal!

English and Service
Tawaraya たわらや
English service: No English menu, but the menu does have photos. You can just point. The staff is friendly and reports that foreign guests frequent the restaurant as it is right down the street from Kitano Tenmagu Shrine.
tel: 075-463-4974
Kyoto-shi Kamigyo-ku Onmae-dori Imakoji-sagaru Bakuro-cho 918 (京都市上京区御前通今小路下ル馬喰町918)
hours 11am-4pm (closed Tuesday)

Map

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Toriiwaro, a shinise located in the old weaving district of Kyoto, offers a single dish for lunch and a single dish for dinner. Toriiwaro’s chicken broth is the heart and soul of their chicken cuisine. Chicken itself is a relative newcomer to the Japanese culinary scene and this 150 year old restaurant is among the oldest in Kyoto serving chicken. The history is palpable here!

Toriiwaro is a restaurant that I had known of for a long time and even though I used to live in the neighborhood, I had never dined there. Thanks to this question (and excellent recommendation) in Kyoto Support, I finally did.

I visited the restaurant with a friend for lunch and we enjoy oyako donburi, shinise style.

Nishijin Shinise Oyako Donburi

Nishijin Shinise Oyako Donburi – Cross Section

This oyako donburi is very rich and soupy!

Nishijin Machiya
Toriiwaro is located in the heart of Nishijin, the old obi and kimono weaving district of Kyoto. This area of Kyoto has the most old traditional machiya houses left. The most spectacular were trading houses, usually dealing in kimono and obi. As Japan changed in the 1970′s and 80′s, most of these companies went bankrupt, as they were not able to change with the times. Today much of old Nishijin has been lost to mindless development but between the parking lots, plastic houses and bathroom tile covered apartment buildings there are still quite a few machiya left, more are being lost literally everyday though. Some are decrepit and some are lovingly maintained and now and again one is meticulously renovated.

Nishijin is one area of Kyoto that travelers won’t want to miss and Toriiwaro is a good place to have a meal and experience a machiya from the inside.

Toriiwaro Dining Room Interior

Toriiwaro Dining Room Interior

Toriiwaro Dining Room Interior

Toriiwaro
Toriiwaro started out in Gion at the end of the Meiji period, about 150 years ago. In 1945 they moved from Gion to their current location in Nishijin and renovated this old machiya into a restaurant. Most of the layout retains the original residential plan. Of course renovating machiya today for restaurants is quite in fashion, however tearing them down is even more in fashion. Many machiya renovated for restaurants retain their shell and structure, but the ‘machiyaness’ is often lost to poor design or over-design. None of that is going on here.

The quaint dining room on the second floor overlooking the garden was quite beautiful. There are numerous tokonoma alcoves, hanging scrolls ikebana flower arrangements and so on.

The tables are quite small and very low. The floor is tatami and you sit on nice thick zabuton cushions.

Toriiwaro Garden and Walkway

The dining room that we ate in was at the end of this sloped wooden walkway on the second floor.

Toriiwaro Garden


Toriiwaro Chicken Cuisine
The soul of Toriiwaro’s cuisine is the rich chicken soup stock. Everyday, for decades now, the carcasses of 30 chickens have been slowly simmered with Kyoto well water for 8 hours to make the next day’s soup.

One Item Dinner Menu: Mizudaki Nabe
Toriiwaro only serves chicken dishes. They are very famous for their mizudaki 地鶏水だき which is local chicken hotpot nabe cooked with their chicken broth. Mizudaki is the only dish offered for dinner and costs 6,300 yen (per person). (We haven’t eaten their mizudaki nabe, but in this photo, it looks pretty good!

One Item Lunch Menu: Oyako Donburi
Lunch is also a single item menu. Toriiwaro’s oyako donburi is a classic and well known in Kyoto. Oyako donburi, literally ‘parent and child’ rice bowl is chicken and egg on top of rice. Their rendition of this common Japanese lunch fare is quite ‘soupy’ with broth and dashi. Usually oyako donburi contains scallions or onions, but not at Toriiwaro. They just use the finest chicken and egg, so it tastes great without the extra flavoring.

A cup of chicken soup is served with the donburi and it has go to be the richest chicken soup broth that I have every had. I went for lunch with a friend from Kyushu and he said that it reminded him of Kyushu’s famous and very rich pork bone stock, tonkotsu.

Toriiwaro Genkan Entry

Toriiwaro Genkan Well

Toriiwaro Sign (鳥岩楼)

As this wooden hand carved and very weathered sign is very old the characters are written in reverse order to modern Japanese.

Toriiwaro Storefront

Toriiwaro is in a large and spectacular Nishijin ‘machiya’.

We were both a bit surprised at the size of the donburi. It was a bit on the small side in terms of volume, but being soupy makes it dense it quite filling. The tsukemono which accompanies the meal could use some improvement. However, 850 yen for a historic and very high quality donburi, in an atmosphere like this, I thought that Toriiwaro was a home run.

I am definitely going back for lunch, and often, and looking forward to having dinner there. I have never had a shinise mizudaki nabe.

As so many of the kimono and obi companies in Nishijin went bankrupt, it can be difficult to find a nice restaurant – they went out of business too. Toriiwaro’s lunch is very reasonably priced, and dinner, at 6,300 yen, while not exactly cheap, isn’t particularly expensive for the kind of food they serve. It seems that smaller, private rooms are available for dinner. At lunch, everyone is seated in the large room shown in the photos.

English and Access
西陣・鳥岩楼 Toriiwarou
English service: No English menu, but at this restaurant you don’t even order. Service is friendly
Website: http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~mao_utty/toriiwa/ (Japanese language only)
Hours: 12noon to 9pm (closed Thursdays)
Location and Access: You’ll definitely need a map for this one. From the intersection of Imadegawa and Chiekoin streets, walk north on Chiekoin to the first street which is Itsutsujicho and turn left. Toriiwaro is less than a minute walk and is on the left (south) side of the street. You can get to Imadegawa-Chiekoin by bus.
Address
: Kyoto-shi Kamigyo-ku Gotsuji-dori Chiekoin Nishi-iru Minami-gawa (京都市上京区五辻通智恵光院西入南側)
Telephone: 075-441-4004

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The mountains surrounding Kyoto are rich with game, some of which are a traditional part of the culinary culture. Wild boar nabe is a winter delicacy. Usually people visit a restaurant that specializes in the dish when they want to enjoy this cuisine. It is a rarity and most Japanese have never had it. However it can easily be made at home without a major expenditure and Kaishintei is a shinise butcher in the Demachiyanagi neighborhood sells wild meat from rural Kyoto, including wild boar through out the winter.

The Place to Buy Wild Boar ‘Shishiniku’ Meat in Kyoto: Kaishintei
Kaishintei is shinise butcher in Kyoto that opened about 90 years ago when eating beef started to become popular with commoners in Japan. Kaishintei has sold deer, bear and wild boar in limited quantities for much of it’s history. Currently only wild boar meat, shishiniku 猪肉, is offered.

Shishiniku is available in the winter months from November to March. As it is harvested from the wild, it may not be available sometimes. Kaishintei of course sells wagyu beef and pork as well.

Kyoto’s Famous Wild Boar – Kaishintei Label

Botan Nabe ぼたん鍋
The meat of the wild boar in winter is very fatty, like pork belly. When it is served for nabe thin slices of the meat is arranged on a plate like a flower. The meat is red and the fat is white and does indeed make quite a convincing flower. Botan nabe gets it’s name from this. Botan is the Japanese word for peony.

Botan nabe can easily be made at home. The soup stock is miso based and you just add the usual vegetables that go into nabe. Kaishindo sells small packets of dark ‘red’ miso specially formulated for botan nabe

Wild Boar for Sale – Sign

Shishi Niku: Wild Boar Meat

Shishi Niku: Wild Boar Meat

Shishi Niku: Wild Boar Meat

Kaishintei Storefront: Teramachi Inoshishiya

Links
OpenKyoto Kyoto Support forum: Kyoto Wild Boar Post

京都改進亭総本店 猪肉 猪肉専門店

English and Access
Kaishintei 京都改進亭総本店 猪肉専門店
English service: Probably no English, but the owner is friendly (Tell him KyotoFoodie sent you.)
Hours: 9:30am-7pm, closed Wed
Location and Access:
Address
: Kyoto, Kamigyo-ku, Teramachi-dori Imadegawa-agaru Omote-cho 35 (京都市上京区寺町通今出川上ル表町35)
Telephone: 075-231-1480

Map

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Today, while passing through Demachiyanagi, there wasn’t usual huge line at Demachi Futaba Mochi Store, so I peeked in and noticed that in addition to the usual line-up of mame-mochi (mochi with whole beans) they had kuromame daifuku, mochi made with black beans from Tamba, in rural Kyoto prefecture. The recently harvested kuromame are gigantic and of course tasty.

Beans in Mochi
Demachi Futaba is a very famous shinise mochi shop in the Masugata Shotengai shopping arcade in the Demachiyanagi neighborhood. There are usually very long lines for their famous mame mochi.

Demachi Futaba’s mame-mochi is known for the softness and quality of it’s mochi and the interesting contrast of sweet azuki bean paste filling and the light saltiness of the beans impregnating the outer mochi layer.

Kuromame Daifuku: Served

Azuki and Anko
Anko, or azuki bean paste, I don’t usually like because it usually just too sweet. Cheap mochi invariably contains anko that is too sweet. Demachi Futaba, in addition to selling their name, uses excellent quality mochi and the anko isn’t too sweet. One mame-mochi or daifuku costs about 150-180 yen, which is a bit more than what is available in supermarkets, but a few pieces of the good stuff ought not to break a traveler’s budget. Even with green tea from a vending machine, enjoying on the nearby riverbank, a few pieces of mame-mochi makes for a nice snack.

We reviewed Demachi Futaba in this article early last summer and introduced their mame-mochi. At first glance, they might look the same, but tamba kuromame beans, which are black, are much, much larger than the regular beans, which are dark brown.

How Did it Taste?
Demachi Futaba’s kuromame seemed more sweet than salty. The taste is big, earthy and rich, the sweetness is subtle and complex and had a slight maple-like syrupiness. I don’t recall ever having mame-mochi that tasted like that.

Kuromame Daifuku

Kuromame Daifuku: Served

For Comparison: ‘Regular’ Mame Mochi

This image is from Mame-mochi and Kuzu-manju, our article we did last summer.

Kuromame Daifuku: Cross Section

Demachiyanagi Neighborhood
Demachiyanagi is the jump-off point if you are going up to Kurama, Kibune, Hanase and probably Ohara. If you are heading up that direction, you will probably change trains at Demachiyanagi, so this is a good opportunity to purchase some yummies to take up to the mountains with you. Also, if you are going to the Imperial Palace, Demachi Futaba is less than a 10 minute walk from the north-east side of the palace grounds.

If you are looking for a place to live in Kyoto, the Demachiyanagi neighborhood is a great place. This is north Kyoto and is considered the nicest part of the city, the mountains are always in sight and historic shines and temples abound, including a number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Demachiyanagi is right next to the Kamo River and not too far from Higashiyma (the East Mountains) and the Imperial Palace grounds, so there is plenty of green space nearby. There are several universities in neighborhood so there are plenty of reasonably priced apartments and restaurants. The Demachuyanagi shopping arcade has about 35 shops and two grocery stores that are among the cheapest in Kyoto. Demachiyanagi is just a 10 minute bicycle ride from the center of the city.

English and Access

English menu: No and N/A, just point to what you want in the showcase
Service/Staff: so-so (typical Kyoto shinise service)
Hours: 8:30am-5:30pm, closed Tuesdays and 4th Wednesday of every month

Location and Access: Demachi Futaba is located on the west side of the Kamo River about a 3 minute walk from Keihan Demachiyanagi Station and Eizan Demachiyanagi Station. The store is facing Kawaramachi Street, just north of the Kawaramachi-Imadegawa intersection. Demachi Futaba is just south of the entrance to the shopping arcade.
Address
: Kyoto-shi, Kamigyo-ku, Kawaramachi-dori, Imadegawa-agaru, Seiryu-cho 236 (京都市上京区河原町通今出川上る青龍町236)
Telephone:  075-231-1658

Near sightseeing Spot: Demachi Futaba is near the Kamo River, Shimogamo Shrine, Kyoto Gosho Imperial Palace and Shokokuji Temple. The Masugata Shotengai shopping arcade, just around the corner is also quite interesting.

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Rakanmochi is sesame flavored mochi encased in a firm but dry and crumbly block of Japanese wasanbon sugar and requires a slight bit of excavation in order to enjoy.

Peko discovered this unusual and very tasty wagashi from Tawaraya Yoshitomi while working on the ayugashi article.

About the Mochi
Rakanmochi comes packed in dry wasanbon sugar which in addition to sweet has distinct butter and honey overtones and is very creamy on the tongue as it quickly melts. The mochi tastes and feels completely different from the wasanbon. The outside is somewhat tough and al dente, but inside it is moist and gooey. It is dark, reddish brown and rich and complex in taste. Sesame is prominent with a base taste that is nutty and molasses-like due to the traditional Japanese sweeteners used.

Rakanmochi is genteihin (限定品), or a limited product. It is only sold at Tawaraya Yoshitomi Karasuma location. At just 157 yen, it is a steal!

Rakanmochi Under Excavation

This image makes me think of images still in my mind from stone quarries.

About Wasanbon Sugar
Today, wasanbon is mainly used for high quality Japanese confections. Traditionally, sugar was an imported luxury that most people had never even seen, much less tasted. In Kyoto only a handful of wagashi stores were licensed to use sugar.

In the early 1700′s (Edo period) domestic sugar production was encouraged by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Of the main islands of Japan sugar cane would only grow in a few areas. In Shikoku, mainly Tokushima chikuto, or ‘thin’ sugar cane was cultivated and modern-day wasanbon sugar was produced there.

Chikuto sugar cane only grows 2 meters high and is not even as thick as a corn stalk. Therefore, it is called ‘thin’, as compared to sugar cane that grows in tropical areas.

Wasanbon, literally ‘Japanese three tray’ sugar as the purification process of pressing, washing and kneading was done three times on wooden trays. This labor intensive process is still done by hand but usually done 5 times rather than just 3.

In appearance wasanbon at first seems like Western powdered sugar, however it has slightly larger granules. The color is slightly golden rather than pure white, it looks and feels more natural than overrefined white sugar.

The taste of wasanbon is different than normal sugar. It has that natural flavor of raw sugar that has not been too refined, even though it is quite refined – washed, kneaded and pressed 5 times! It is not overly sweet. It is caramely and earthy, yet dry and crumbly.

When wasonbon arrives on the tongue it melts – it goes from dry and powdery to syrupy and creamy in an instant and then just vanishes into a sweetness on the tongue.

Rakanmochi Package

On the top it says, 羅漢餅 (rakanmochi).

Rakanmochi Package

Sorry, I didn’t research the story of the two characters on either side of the package.

Rakanmochi Straight Out of the Package

Rakanmochi ‘Excavation’ Process

Starting to breaking it apart

Rakanmochi ‘Excavation’ Process

It’s actually quite a bit of sugar which can be used for creating other yummies or just nibbled upon.

Rakanmochi Served

Rakanmochi – bite

Wasanbon – detail

Tawaraya Yoshitomi Karasuma Store 俵屋吉富 烏丸店
Location and Access: Approximately 5 minute walk from Imadegawa Station (Karasuma Subway Line).
Address: 602-0021 Kyoto-shi Kamigyo-ku Karasuma-dori Kamidachiuri-agaru Yanaginozushi-cho 331-2 (京都府京都市上京区烏丸通り上立売上ル柳図子町331-2)
Telephone: 075-432-3101
www.kyogashi.co.jp/b-1.html (Japanese language only)

Demachi Futaba is one of Kyoto’s most popular shinise mochi shops, famous for tasty confections and long lines! It is common to see taxis waiting while tourists make a last minute purchase of Kyoto yummies before jumping on a bullet train and going back home. Backpacker tourists can often be seen down at the nearby Kamo River bank munching away on some seasonal mochi too.

Mame-mochi is Demachi Futaba’s undisputed favorite. It is a favorite of Kyoto residents and well known throughout Japan. It has big, black beans in soft, chewy mochi. Demachi Futaba’s mame-mochi is nadai (名代), or ‘famous’.

We picked up some mame-mochi and a summery kuzu-manju.

Kuzu
Kuzu-manju is a lightly sweetened gelatin made from the starch of the kuzu root and is filled with azuki paste, this all wrapped in a fresh tree leaf. (We think it is sakura, but are not positive.) Kuzu is well-loved by Japanese and the most sought after kuzu comes from Yoshino in Nara Prefecture, just next door to Kyoto.

Kuzu is appealing to Japanese sensibilities as a cool and refreshing summer treat because chilled, it looks ice-like and contains a lot of water. Things that not only are cool, but look cool, water or ice-like do the trick for Japanese, it seems.

Demachi Futaba is located in the Demachiyanagi neighborhood up on the north-east side of the Imperial Palace, next to the Kamo River. It is near Keihan Demachiyanagi Station. If you are heading up to Kurama and Kibune or Ohara and Yase, in the north mountains, this is a great place to pick up some shinise snacks to take a long. We have also reviewed several restaurants in the neighborhood that serve fine dinners.

Throughout the year, Demachi Futaba has a wide assortment of seasonal mochi treats, be sure to sample some of them in addition to the ‘nadai‘ mame-mochi. (And come back to KyotoFoodie and tell us what you thought!)

Demachi Futaba Package

Your order is nicely packaged and the blue sticker reads; “Nadai (famous product) mame-mochi Demachi Futaba”. And on the upper right; “Please eat today”.

Mame-mochi

Kuzu-manju

Cooling, light, summery and fresh.

Demachi Futaba Showcase

The showcase contains a variety yummies that changes throughout the year.

Demachi Futaba Shop

Production is done just behind the counter, in plain view and it is a beehive of activity. Demachi Futaba is far and away the busiest mochi shop I have seen in Kyoto.

Demachi Futaba Shop

It is not uncommon for their to be 30 or 40 customers waiting in line, especially in the late afternoon. (This photo was taken first thing in the morning.)

Demachi Futaba

This detailed Japanese language map is printed on the wrapping paper.

English and Access

English menu: No and N/A, just point to what you want in the showcase
Service/Staff: so-so (typical Kyoto shinise service)
Hours: 8:30am-5:30pm, closed Tuesdays and 4th Wednesday of every month

Location and Access: Demachi Futaba is located on the west side of the Kamo River about a 3 minute walk from Keihan Demachiyanagi Station and Eizan Demachiyanagi Station. The store is facing Kawaramachi Street, just north of the Kawaramachi-Imadegawa intersection. Demachi Futaba is just south of the entrance to the shopping arcade.
Address
: Kyoto-shi, Kamigyo-ku, Kawaramachi-dori, Imadegawa-agaru, Seiryu-cho 236 (京都市上京区河原町通今出川上る青龍町236)
Telephone: 075-231-1658

Near sightseeing Spot: Demachi Futaba is near the Kamo River, Shimogamo Shrine, Kyoto Gosho Imperial Palace and Shokokuji Temple. The Masugata Shotengai shopping arcade, just around the corner is also quite interesting.

Map

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